CC Minutes - 06/11/07 Work Session

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B. WORK SESSION: Manufactured Dwelling Park Regulations City Manager Taylor stated that the Housing Policy Board (HPB) had been wrestling with the recommenda- tions. He asked Urban Services Manager for the Community Development Division, Richie Weinman, to speak about it. Mr. Weinman explained that the HPB had taken up the issue one year earlier and had appointed a committee. Ms. Solomon had served as chair. The committee membership included John VanLandingham (HPB Chair at the time), a park resident, a park owner, a park manager, and two at-large committee members. He stated that the City of Eugene currently had 34 manufactured home parks with 3,100 spaces. He said Eugene had an ordinance that protected the homeowner/residents of the parks and 18 of the parks, representing approximately 1,200 spaces, were covered by the ordinance. He related that the ordinance had been enacted in 1989 it provided protections for homeowners but it only applied to parks that were in non- conforming uses such as industrial zones or flood plains because there was an anticipation that they would eventually close. He added that it also only applied to special category tenants defined as tenants who were 70 years old and older, disabled, or low income. Mr. Weinman stated that no one anticipated at that time that the parks in residential areas would be closed, but at present the properties were becoming very valuable for redevelopment. He said as a result people who own manufactured homes were concerned because there were not enough spaces to move the homes to. He averred that the ordinance that was recommended for consideration represented a compromise between the different interests on the committee. He explained that it would protect some of the owners and provide them some compensation from the property owner should the park close, but it also recognized that the property owners had the right to sell the property. He summarized the recommended changes to the existing ordinance: ? All parks in the community containing five or more spaces would be covered by the ordinance; ? All home-owning residents in the parks would be covered; ? The park owner must hire a housing counselor to assist residents in moving and relocation; ? Residents are entitled to compensation for their losses – if the home could be moved residents land- lords provide moving costs according to a schedule and if the home could not be moved the landlord the homeowner could either receive payment equal to real market value plus a flat amount for mov- ing based on the federal relocation compensation schedule. He noted that the owner could subtract any state subsidy from the payment to the tenant and the resident would not get full value for their asset. He said the owner might get System Development Charge (SDC) credits if applicable. Mr. Weinman related that the State was “hotly debating” bills that would provide statewide protections. He said the big sticking point at this juncture was the preemption clause, which would prevent local jurisdic- tions from passing their own ordinances. He stated that it had passed out of committee with a compromise that included a six-month preemption zone so that a local jurisdiction would have six months to prepare and pass an ordinance before the law would go into effect. Ms. Solomon declared that the process had been respectful with very different opinions at the table and that it had truly resulted in a compromise. Ms. Bettman expressed appreciation for the work that had gone into the recommendations. She asked how many parks contained less than five spaces. Mr. Weinman replied that he was uncertain whether the MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 11, 2007 Page 4 Work Session